Rúgbrauð – Icelandic dark rye bread

Author:Sue O'Bryan

Prep Time:15 minutes

Cook Time:8 hrs

Total Time:8 hrs

Yield:2 loaves

Category:Baking, bread

Method:Baking

Cuisine:Nordic

Description

A delicious easy to make old recipe for Icelandic dark rye bread, which traditionally was baked in the earth and therefore known as “geothermal bread.” This version is for the home cook – the loaves bake while you sleep, 8 hours at 200 degrees!

Ingredients

3 cups of rye flour (preferably dark rye flour)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

4 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup honey (I used raw buckwheat honey)

1/2 cup light maple syrup (the recipe originally called for “golden syrup”, which I did not want to use, nor did I want to substitute corn syrup)

Instructions

Mix together flours and other dry ingredients

Form a well in the flour mixture and pour in buttermilk

Add honey and maple syrup

Mix together until dry ingredients are fully incorporated

Pour into two loaf pans and bake at 200F for 8 hours

Allow loaves to cool for at least 24 for hours before slicing into them

Notes

Try baking in one loaf pan – you will get a taller loaf, but you will need to cool for at least 32 hours before slicing. These loaves do not rise much therefore sometimes it is nice to have a bigger, taller loaf.